The evolution of vehicle safety technology – and its impact on the collision repair industry – will be the focus of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists’ (SCRS) annual Repairer Roundtable in Pittsburgh taking place from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. on April 19 at the Sheraton Station Square.

Corey Harper, a doctoral candidate at Carnegie Mellon University’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, will kick things off with a presentation on his research analyzing the impact of crash avoidance systems.

Kaleb Silver, senior product manager for Hunter Engineering, will then share insight on the rapidly advancing technology found on current vehicles, especially in the area of advanced driver assistance systems. Silver will discuss the impact that these systems have on commonplace services often associated with the collision repair process, such as wheel alignments.

To close out the roundtable, John Eck, collision manager for GM customer care and aftersales, will talk about areas where advanced safety technology can affect previously commonplace or routine repair operations and where to find documentation and information to substantiate the proper repair approach. Eck, who is the sitting president of the OEM Collision Repair Roundtable, also will solicit feedback from the audience to identify areas where the industry would like to see greater collaboration, support or guidance from the members of the OEM roundtable.

There’s no cost to attend the event, but SCRS asks attendees to RSVP. Immediately following the Repairer Roundtable, SCRS will be holding the annual Corporate Member Recognition and Industry Awards Luncheon. The event is free to attend, but RSVP is required.